Italy: ancient fresco of St Paul discovered

A fresco of St Paul, believed to be more than 1,400 years old, has been found in an ancient Roman catacomb in the port city of Naples. The fresco was discovered during restoration work at the Catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius), by experts from the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Art, the Telegraph reports.

The announcement was made on the feast day of St Peter and Paul. Details of the discovery were disclosed in the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

A photograph released by the Vatican shows the apostle, with a long neck, a slightly pink complexion, thinning hair, a beard and big eyes. Last year, another fresco of St Paul was found in another catacomb in Rome. That was dated to the 4th century AD and is believed to be the oldest image of him in existence.


To watch a news report of the discovery on Youtube see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OAGCV4l1PE